A Bayern Munich star has made a shock claim about the linesman following their UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid.
The Bavarians suffered a defeat after two late goals from Los Blancos substitute Joselu saw Thomas Tuchel's side lose the second leg 2-1, ultimately losing the tie 4-3 on aggregate on Wednesday night.
The Bundesliga giants did, however, come close to levelling matters once more deep into stoppage time, when defender Matthijs de Ligt buried the ball in the back of the net.
The linesman, however, raised his flag for offside, with the referee blowing his whistle before the move was completed.
Speaking after the game, the Dutch centre-back claimed that the match official apologised to him and admitted to making an error.
"The linesman said to me, 'I'm sorry, I made a mistake,'" De Ligt said, per the New Zealand Herald.
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"The rule says that if it's not clear offside... you have to keep playing.
"And if you go in the last minute and you whistle like this, I think this is a big mistake. If it's offside or not, I don't know, VAR can check it, but if you don't check it, how can you see it? This is a shame."
Tuchel, meanwhile, stated that any apology was of no benefit to Bayern following their elimination, and criticised both the linesman and the referee after losing out on a potential opportunity to face domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund in the final of the competition.
"It feels almost like a betrayal in the end because of that decision,” he said. "The linesman said sorry. That does not help.
"To raise the flag in a decision like this, in a close decision in the last minute, and the referee as well... The referee does not have to whistle.
"He sees that we win the second ball, he sees that we get the shot away. To whistle is a very, very bad decision.
"It's against the rules and it's a bad decision from both of them."
Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti, however, took an opposing stance on the matter.
His side were also disallowed a goal earlier on in the game, when captain Nacho Fernandez was penalised for a foul on Joshua Kimmich ahead of an own goal.
"The last play is clear, the referee blows the whistle and we stop," the Italian said.
"This referee is very good, he refereed in a World Cup final. They complain about this and we complain about the goal by Nacho that was disallowed. Kimmich threw himself to the ground."
